


Living Memory

by rainsonata



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, because there aren't enough fanfics about Esper, having funky consequences from time traveling, muscles and organs get mentioned so just to be safe it's rated M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 21:04:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19281157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainsonata/pseuds/rainsonata
Summary: Diabolic Esper wakes up to a familiar face who is a little too eager to meet him.





	Living Memory

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on October 30, 2015 on tumblr.

He woke up to the sound of dripping.

It was pitch black when Esper’s eyes fluttered open, almost pointless because it hardly made a difference.  He couldn’t see his own hands even when he held them up close, feeling the rubbery texture of the gloves against his face.

The room was cold, freezing even, and yet he was sweating.  Esper opened his mouth to speak, only to let out a hoarse croak.  He bit his tongue to stop himself from gagging, drool dripping down his chin as he threw his head down with tears.

Once the choking sensation started to fade, Esper sat up, taking slow, heavy breaths.  As he done so, he discovered that he had been sleeping on the floor.  It wasn’t the worst place to sleep, but what scared him was that he didn’t remember falling asleep.  Where was he?  He squinted at his surroundings, still adjusting to the dark.        

The small room was bare, with only a small bookcase and a mattress in the corner of the room.  Esper spotted a couple of tools lying near the base of the bookcase, tossed aside as if their owner was in a rush for something.  Papers scattered on the thin mattress with messy unintelligible writing that looked familiar, ink marks smeared at the edges.  It was then did Esper realize where he was.

He squirmed when he felt a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around his waist.  Esper tried to break free from the person’s embrace, surprised at their strength despite the thin and bony feel of their arms.  A gasp escaped from Esper’s mouth when he felt the person’s fingers clinging to his sides.

He thought he saw short white hair when he twisted his body to the side, enough to smack the person away.  Wait, white hair?  He stopped midway when he saw who it was.

The person was a living memory, a teenager tall and lanky, maybe a few inches shorter than Esper.  His eyes were similar to Esper’s, but only the left eye was stained pitch black.  He was no longer hugging Esper, but the haunting look he gave was unnerving, an emotion Esper had not felt in a long time.  

What was he doing in Time Tracer’s apartment?  The tracer should have been considerably weaker, but Esper felt fear clasp his chest.  Esper ordered his dynamos to attack, only to see that they were out of reach.  

“Look at you,” Time whispered with a quiet laugh.  “You’re pathetic.  Didn’t even notice that I took your toys away until you needed them.  Have you lost your touch?  What a pity.”

What did he do to end up in the same timeline as his younger self?  This Time Tracer had a wild grin on his face, revealing sharp teeth identical to his.  

Esper looked at Time in shock when the tracer closed the gap between them, pressing his hands to Esper’s sides, gradually digging his nails into the cracks of Esper’s protective suit.  Fingers pressed through his skin, deep into his flesh, through the gaps of his rib cage, before tearing outwards, ripping Esper’s stomach open. Esper cried out, but no one came. The malevolent grin across Time’s face only widened. The tracer reached into the open wound, pushing his fingers deep through layers of muscles and tissue, allowing the black tar to ooze out.  Pain flared through his chest, a squishing sound audible as the tracer explored his insides.  He wanted to vomit.

“You tried everything, and yet you still failed to find the right timeline.”  Time said with a sigh and closed his eyes, reopening them with a sly smile.  “Tell me…what would Mother think if she saw you like this?” He gestured to the mess spilling from him.  

Esper squirmed when he felt Time’s hand stop at a peculiar spot.  Esper’s breathing grew stiff when he felt something wrapped around his heart, struggling to continue breathing. Time’s hand gave it a gentle squeeze before tearing it out.  

Esper gazed in horror at his heart, dripping with ink, veins and muscle fibers a corrupt black.  He hissed when Time grabbed him by the collar, bringing them to the same eye level, cringing when the acidic mix of black and red splattered onto his cheeks when Time held the still shuddering heart close.          

“Still alive, are you even human?” Time asked, glancing at the heart with fascination.  His distorted laughter echoed through the room.        

Esper stopped, forgetting to take in breaths when Time brought his face closer to the tracer.  With a small smile, Time intertwined his fingers around Esper’s windpipe.  He clamped his mouth shut when he felt the pitch build up as Time squeezed his throat, but a stream of it was already trickling out of the corner of his lips.  Esper choked on his saliva, crying for the only person he wanted to be with.      

“Mother!” Esper rasped.  He wanted to get away.  What did Time want?  

“Aw, still calling for Mommy?” Time mocked.  His face grew dark, “Mother is dead, dear Esper.  Just like you should have been ages ago.”

“Let’s end this.”  

Esper froze when he saw that the heart raised up in Time’s fist.  As Time uttered his last words, he applied more pressure to the heart before it burst, scattering pieces of it everywhere.  He could only watch his younger self cackle as his vision faded out.

“Good bye, Esper.” Time leaned over to him.        

He suddenly jolted awake, opening his eyes open to a bright blue sky.  Huh?  He stared at the unfamiliar environment in confusion.  Esper looked around to see that they were in the middle of a grassy plain.    

“Oi, Esper!” He turned to see Psyker looking at him with impatience.  “You’ve been out for hours, you okay?”

Esper looked down to see that his chest was still intact.  Tired from sleeping on the wrong side, but still in good health for a body filled with toxin.  He stopped himself from sighing with relief that the whole fiasco was just a nightmare, a disturbingly vivid one.  

“Don’t sleep when we’re almost home,” Mastermind scoffed.  

Esper felt uncomfortable when he saw that Mastermind was there too, who looked as worried as Psyker.  He forgot how those two were more caring than the other Lunatic Psykers and Masterminds, a blessing and a curse.  The time traveler didn’t want to explain why he was covered with a cold sweat.    

“I told you, it was a bad idea to let him sleep for that long!” Mastermind said to Psyker.

“Oh, shut it.” Psyker sounded annoyed, but a smile tugged at the edge of his mouth.  He turned to Esper to ask him again, “You sure, you’re okay?”

“Yeah…” Esper mumbled, hoping that his voice didn’t sound too hollow.  He shook his head when images of the nightmare flashed back, desperate to be rid of the memory.  “I’m just tired. Let’s go home”  


End file.
